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Passport laws–keeping us imprisoned in our own country

NYT covers the story of the Iroquois Confederacy’s lacrosse team, which is treated as a full national team in international lacrosse competitions and currently ranks 4th in the world. The team has always traveled on Iroquois-issued passports. But now the British consulate has been denying them the visas they need to compete in the world championships because the U.S. government refuses to say if they will recognize the Iroquois passports at the border when these guys return home, which would effectively leave the Iroquois in Britain’s hands.

Money quote:

Spokesmen for the Department of Homeland Security and the British consulate said that they would not comment on specific cases. A spokeswoman for the State Department would only say that the Iroquois team has been offered expedited United States passports, but they declined that offer.

“It would be like saying the Canadians are having travel difficulties and the U.S. says we’ll make you U.S. passports and you can go over,” Ms. Waterman said.

On a pragmatic level, this case is just stupid. These guys are lacrosse players, not terrorists or dissidents. Let them go to the world championships, where they’ve earned their spot.

On an ethical level, I’m angry with the British for even requiring visas. I’m angry with the U.S. government for politicizing our borders even more than they already are. I long for the day when passports will become nothing more than the equivalent of stampable international drivers’ licenses and not a battleground for fear and nationalism.